I’ve seen the power of the arts to move, to educate, drive change and foster social cohesion many times. I experienced it intensely first hand, when I produced Crossings: Songs from the East in 2013.

The concert showcased a cross-cultural collaboration of traditional and improvised music spanning the Greek, Kurdish, Arabic and Persian traditions. It was an exciting coming-together for the first time of local Sydney-based musicians; four out of the five were first generation Australians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. They drew from both their musical heritage and their contemporary experience of multicultural Australia.

The audience, which we surveyed, said things like:

“Beautiful to see a coming together of cultures through the arts”…

“Brought back memories of home”…

“Wonderful! Especially watching the musicians improvising – working together… so much richness (and they say multiculturalism doesn’t work)! It is alive and brings so much richness to our lives and to Australia”…

The experience of that production impacted all involved, from the artists to the audience and everyone in between, in ways that only arts and cultural experiences can sometimes – on the level where words cease and only the senses and the human spirit exist. One comes away from an experience like that with a sense that something in them is a little different… a little changed.

As an audience member watching the Sydney Theatre Company’s latest production of The Secret River, I came away with exactly that feeling. I was shattered at the brutality of the story – the brutal truth in the story – but I was compelled to watch and listen.

I felt like I was bearing witness to a history not told often enough. In the author, Kate Grenville’s, words: “This book isn’t history, but it’s solidly based on history. Most of the events in the book “really happened” and much of the dialogue is what people really said or wrote.” Knowing this, I felt the weight of responsibility, like I was almost charged with the duty of carrying this history on, of re-telling it. So I made it my mission for days afterwards to tell everyone I met to go see the show.

It was hard to watch at times. The woman sitting to my left had her eyes closed for much of the massacre scene. It wasn’t explicit or visually disturbing – but it sat in that space – the space where words cease and only the senses exist. Clearly for the woman beside me, her senses were in overwhelm. I was grateful that the night I attended happened to be followed by the Q and A session with the actors and co-director afterwards – it was an opportunity for the audience to re-compose and debrief almost. More than that, it was a way to bring the savage racism of our history into the present.

The discussion that ensued was open and honest. The actors told of their own experiences of facing and witnessing racism today. Actor Ningali Lawford-Wolf told of how she was refused a ride by four taxi drivers on the street just outside the theatre. Richard Piper, who played the most savage of the white characters, talked of how the experience of being a part of this production changed him – made him reflect on times where he had been a bystander to racist incidences and had not acted. He spoke of the need for us all to speak up and take a stand in similar situations, and of his resolve to do differently next time. An audience member asked the questions: “What can we do? How can we do better when we leave this theatre?”. One of the younger cast members, Madeleine Madden, spoke about the power of the arts to move and affect change. Everyone on stage seemed to acknowledge a sort of shared social responsibility to tell the story with authenticity and sensitivity.

I came away with the feeling that the sentiment in that Q and A session was shared company-wide, and with 2 mins of online research I discovered the Sydney Theatre Company’s ‘Human Rights and Social Performance Statement’ As part of STC’s commitment to “operating as a responsible organisation” they state: “STC’s statement on Human Rights and Social Performance reflect our ability to uphold human rights within our organisation and our sphere of influence. We adhere to both international and local human rights legislation and reflect these in our human resources policies, practices and Code of Conduct.” Further down, in relation to audiences and the arts industry, it states: “We share our learning and promote human rights issues through giving voice to social issues by our choices in productions and our industry networks by contributing to conversations.”

This initiative – of writing the importance of social responsibility into the policies and strategic objectives of an organisation – is exactly what we need more of – especially in the arts and cultural industries, whose core ‘business’ is in the creation of meaning.

Go and see The Secret River if you can. Or read the book. Or watch the TV series. And share the story. Continue the conversation. It is our shared responsibility.

Australia’s acknowledgement of racism has grown considerably, since Adam Goodes was Australian of the Year (2014). This could be largely due to the fact that his cause was anti-racism. The Racism. It Stops With Me. campaign was launched soon after. Over 250 organisations joined the anti-racism campaign, which promoted racial equality (including All Together Now). It seemed that Australia was finally ready to kick racism out of the country once and for all. However, it seemed in 2015, Australia once again took a step back as it questioned incidents of racism as actually being racist or not. The questioning of an incident being racist or not was seen most prominently during the booing bullying of AFL player Adam Goodes. People in the media questioned the validity of the incessant and constant targeted bullying, of this particular player, as being racist or not. It was undoubtedly fueled by racism, as the ‘issue’ that had people begin the booing of Goodes occurred after he displayed (during the Indigenous Round of AFL) an Indigenous symbol to the crowd as a victory showcase after scoring a goal. Idiotic though it may seem, racism is often just so.

We’d like to take the time to add to the discussion on Goodes, that being ‘politically correct’ is giving respect. It is the correct way to act. Denying respect includes denying racism. Or, as Marlon James put it, “most of us are non-racists” and are content to be so: “I won’t, I don’t, I’ve never” are not statements that change those individuals, groups or institutions that are prejudice, bigoted and racist. This ‘non-racism’ occurs when you know something is racist but by doing nothing it does not stop it from occurring. The question the comes to: How do we make active people trying to end racism?

We make active people trying to end racism by giving them knowledge of how it acts, interacts and attacks society and individuals ability to succeed, be unified and progress.

Non-racism along with racism denial are two important factors in the continuing of racism in Australia and internationally. So, here is a reminder of what racism denial looks like:

I am 21, and what have I achieved?That was the burning question I found myself asking when I met Monique Evelle, founder and leader of Desabafo Social. The headquarters reflects the organisation’s commitment to youth, from the quasi-graffiti on the walls, to the group of young Afro-Brazilian women and girls that give us our briefing. The organisation, founded in 2011 when Monique was in high school, works across thirteen states to socially empower young Brazilians, particularly those of African descent, through creating safe spaces to gather, collaborate on and develop projects in their own communities to counter racism and inequality. Even in Australia, fighting both the overt and the subtle influence of race seems a mammoth task, one that many in the community are not ready or willing to confront. Nonetheless, open and shameless racism regularly stimulates public discourse against the perpetrators, as with Adam Goodes and more insidiously, with racial abuse on public transport. There is a sense of shame attached, in the mind of the majority, to blatant racism.

In Brazil, the social divides are infinite, complex, dynamic and extreme: the slightest changes in skin tone dictate which workplaces will hire you or not hire you for the position you are qualified for. If you happen to be ‘black’ or ‘coloured’ and highly qualified, while a less qualified applicant is ‘white’ then guess who will get the call back? LGBTIQ Brazilians, the poor, those who live in favelas (unplanned communities), women and people of colour will invariably face significant social challenges that simply don’t exist for others. In police organisations, there exist significant prejudices even between those of different shades of colour. We see this as racial profiling, but to authorities, it is simply preventative. In August, a bus ferrying fifteen teenagers from the city’s outer communities (read: of low socio-economic status) was stopped in the streets of Rio by the notorious military police, with those on board summarily detained and searched. None were carrying weapons or drugs. Fourteen of the fifteen were black.Now imagine you ran an anti-racism organisation, like All Together Now. Imagine each day, you ran the risk of being detained arbitrarily outside your office, and routinely passed by young, black men being searched in the street solely for the colour of their skin. Imagine that you yourself are regularly stopped on your doorstep, or violently assailed in the street with little reason, outside your workplace that exists solely to counter this behaviour. The need for such an organisation is self-evident in Salvador, within metres of its headquarters: en route, two young men with backpacks, dressed much like myself and seemingly hanging out together in the city centre of the old city, are stopped in the street. Their hands behind their heads, legs spread, three heavily armed policemen that are at pains to emphasize their weapons assail them. Nothing is found on their person. Guess their skin colour.

That is Desabafo Social’s reality. For a society so entrenched in its own problems – economic, political and social – it appears to be a demoralising battle for survival in Brazil, but unless people who want to change this system can band together, it is bound by the lessons of history to repeat. Ignorance will breed ignorance, poverty breeds poverty. Human rights form the overarching narrative of what Desabafo aims to do: to promote an alternative vision of human rights to young people, and enshrine equality and fairness in a society so long bereft of them. Monique wants to interrupt this cycle, and in small ways, Desabafo Social is winning, and collecting accolades along the way.

Much of this success is owed to the organisation’s use of technology. Monique has been recognised in Brazil as one of 25 most influential Afro-Brazilians on the internet. The internet empowers all users to collaborate, communicate and develop new ideas in a relatively safe space. Aprendizagem colaborativa, in English “collaborative knowledge,” is built collectively between peers and teachers and facilitated by the internet. Via this platform, the organisation frequently organises workshops, seminars and lectures on social entrepreneurship, effecting change, self-development and community organisation. Youth participation is paramount, and it is through investing time and energy into education that Desabafo aims to change endemic disadvantage.

Everything is about developing change in the long term, and investing in what we have now to reap change later. Social changes require patience; take Indigenous rights or same-sex marriage in this country. Children teach their children their values, after all. It’s a lesson many in Australia could learn.

Last week on Thursday and Friday, the 5-6th of November, the 2015 FECCA National Conference took place in Sydney. FECCA, the Federation of Ethnic Community Councils of Australia, is the peak national body representing Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The two-day conference brought hundreds of leading decision makers, scholars, and experts together, all with a collective desire to debate and discuss key issues relating to multiculturalism.

It was positive to have our politicians cohesively acknowledge how a better embracement of multiculturalism will lead to a better future for all Australians. Senator the Hon. Concetta Fierravanti-Wells acknowledged how important it is for Australians to recognise our country’s history of successful migration and how this is a legacy worth protecting. The Hon Tanya Plibersek addressed the tokenistic manner in which multiculturalism is often highlighted, and how “multiculturalism is more than the ethnic food festivals and parades” it is so often limited to. Senator Richard Di Natale confronted how the government cannot support multiculturalism through policy yet repeal s18C of the Anti-Discrimination Act and “open the floodgates to racism”. By our political parties dismissing their governmental differences in order to show a united front in the name of multiculturalism shows a common interest by our democratic leaders in the face of racial discrimination, and how important the issue of racism is to our parliamentary leaders.

The conference held concurrent forums on key issues related to multiculturalism such as equity in disability, productivity through diversity, cyber racism, and multicultural broadcasting and communications. In the forum addressing ‘The Cultural Dividend of Multiculturalism”, Ross Tzannes AM cited Anne Phillip’s quote “Harm could come to our minority groups if we trivialise their culture”, and noted how cultural diversity in the workplace is often paraded around as a marketing tool, without recognising the intrinsic value cultural diversity has in itself. Liz Deep-Jones also explored the idea of multiculturalism in the workplace. Having over twenty years experience at SBS, Liz brought up to the discussion how integral it was for her workplace of the media, in particular, to bring education of other cultures to the forefront of broadcasting. Liz expressed how Australia is a country so rich in diversity, we are able to put on shows such as Living Black, or a news program addressing Chinese Australians that is spoken in Manderin but with English subtitles, to be as inclusive as possible.

In “Enabling Better Health”, key scholars and medical practitioners brought together their unique experience and knowledge of how minority groups often struggle to get access to the Australian healthcare system. Dr. Sara Javanparast expressed her disdain at the resistance of general practitioners to using interpreting services to fully engage migrants with our healthcare system. This apprehension of interpreting services was also of concern to Rosemarie Draper, who has taken action addressing this problem with a health literacy approach. Rosemarie represented the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS), and showed how the RDNS has created unique talking books that take all cultural diversities into consideration. For example, their talking book on Type 2 Diabetes in Vietnamese is freely available on the RDNS’ website, and provides both written and audible health information in Vietnamese at the equivalent of an English grade 6 level, in order to be more inclusive of the community.

Many more forums were held addressing key areas that have felt the impact and influence of multiculturalism, and all the speakers at the conference agreed that multiculturalism is the necessary narrative for the future of Australia. The conference ended on a positive note, with the 2014 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, Laura John, concluding the forum with some personal accounts of her own experiences that led to her personal understanding of what multiculturalism means. The 2015 FECCA conference was an irrefutable success, and All Together Now can’t thank FECCA Chair Joe Caputo OAM for bringing these creative and scholarly minds together to collaborate and discuss the possibilities the lie ahead for the Australian community.

With the Christmas season fast approaching, it is now that time of year to start looking for presents for our near and dearest. In the lead up to Christmas All Together Now will be looking at different retailers that have embraced racial diversity and multiculturalism in their products. One market that has only recently been blessed with racial diversity in the past decade are toys for children, in particular dolls and figurines.

In the US only last year, a man was confronted with the misfortune of finding out if he was to purchase an African American Barbie doll for his daughter, he would have to fork out more than double the cost of its Caucasian counterpart. When the retailer in question was queried about the discrepancy in price, they offered the man the doll for the lower price and released a statement apologizing for the ‘systems issue’ that caused disparity.

A generation ago in Australia, it was extremely rare to see a doll that wasn’t white, the vast majority of them with blonde hair and blue eyes. Australian children who were Asian, Aboriginal or from other minority groups never saw features resembling their own on a doll, nor any resemblance of their culture.

Fortunately, there has been a shift in the toy market here to reflect the multicultural, multiracial reality of our society. Earlier this month Jonathan Thurston was spread across national headlines not only for leading the Cowboys to victory in the Rugby League final, but also for the notably dark-skinned doll his two-year-old daughter Frankie was holding. It may not be very obvious yet in the toy sections of our variety stores but it is very evident in specialised toyshops and the educational toy suppliers that stock our day-care centres, pre-schools & early primary schools.

Diversifying the colour of dolls is the first step, but it is important to show a child that not only is your ethnic background worth embracing, but also that your background does not pigeonhole what you’re capable of. This is an important step in teaching not only children but also adults the way in which we can teach our future generations how to understand and participate in multiculturalism.

Primary Toys provides a diverse range of dolls from all ethnic backgrounds. Click HERE to see the prushka doll in hijab and HERE to see the prushka doll in saree.

The Islamic Bookstore is a wonderful resource for not only Islamic teachings but toys as well.Yousuf (Talking Taljweed boy)Aamina (talking Taljweed girl)

Kangaroo has a variety of different toys at different price points, including a variety of different finger puppets.

Kylie O’Reilly is the Managing Director of the Agency Division for Australian Associated Press (AAP), the national news agency of Australia. Kylie has over 15 years’ experience in the media industry and holds an MBA from the University of Technology Sydney.

Kylie has been the Chairperson of All Together Now for some years, helping to lead the organisation through to some great achievements.

We now interview her about her role in the organisation, her passions and goals before she heads off to run in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival, this Sunday 20th September, 2015.

All Together Now: You can be a role model of modern woman. Many girls in Australia can take you as an example, how to be successful in life. Can you tell me what story is hidden behind your decision to refocus from Managing Director at AD AAP to the role of a chairperson in not-for-profit organization? Why did you choose anti-racism focus?

Kylie O’Reilly: Firstly, the reason, why I chose to contribute my time as a chairperson to All Together Now, was because I want to do something to make a difference. So, for me was important to be sure, that I can contribute my skills into their work, make a difference into the community. But the most important driver was an ability to participate. My previous experience was very much commercial and corporate, and it’s great, it’s nice to help businesses to make money and to employ people. But, when it gets down to having children and to be a part of a family and a community, I realized that I want to see my children living in a better place. That’s why I chose All Together Now. And I thought, that one of these topics (racism) would be committed to, because it is a hard work, [and] it is not an easy thing to be part of it. It’s not one of the topics, which everyone would easily contribute to, such as animals’ rights, cancer or children, – it is much tougher. As for me, I like challenges and being able to contribute to the good.

ATN: Kylie, if you could compare from the perspective of racial discrimination Australia of your childhood and Australia today, what differences can you list?

Kylie O’Reilly: I think, nowadays we are much more aware. There are two major things. First of all, when I grew up it was a very white Australia, where I was. Australia wasn’t so multicultural. I spent my childhood on the Northern beaches of Sydney and it was a very Anglo-Saxon place. Now, when we are near the beaches it is much more multicultural. I can see that children integrate much more in classes. They ask questions about different religions, different customs and many other things. As a child, I didn’t have any of that. So, I see differences in all of these things that were changed since the time of 30 years ago till now.

I would say that modern Australia is much more integrated. People are more aware now about dangers of racial discrimination. I don’t think that 30 years ago we did understand the impact of racial discrimination, how is it felt like to be an excluded outsider to someone new to the country. Nowadays we are totally aware how harmful that is. So, I think, Australia became very different in that sense.

ATN: As a mother, how do you explain and will explain multicultural differences and diversity to your children? Is it possible to erase racism from Australian society in future, educating a new generation today?

Kylie O’Reilly: Yes, I believe so. I have always believed that it’s possible, because I believe in the strength of acceptance and love. So, for me, why would not I accept everybody’s differences, we are all similar human beings with a heart and a brain…You know, it’s just because you look differently and speak differently to me, it doesn’t mean that we are that different from each other. All these differences are things which need to be celebrated. So, as for me, I will teach my children about it: differences make us unique, there are many things that we should celebrate and be curious about, [and] learn more about. All these things make the world so interesting, [like] when we are travelling, doesn’t it? We get to learn about different cultures and different places, we can learn different things and taste different food and we can immerse ourselves [in] something completely unknown.

ATN: Apart from being a chairperson of All Together Now how do you oppose racism in everyday life?

Kylie O’Reilly: I would say that the first level of racism, that I would see, is joke. People are making jokes. What they think is a joke in the reality is a statement. Basically, it is framing of our culture into a joke. So, for me, I would say that joke is a way of framing the culture. I don’t think that it is much more diverse in that. In everyday living we can frequently hear jokes about Asian drivers or…you know, when people say those kinds of things. To me that is a crazy talk, because I am not my one culture, you are not your one culture. Same as it doesn’t mean that I am a great driver or a bad driver, just because I am a female. For me this is much more complicated now. So, in everyday life racism usually appears in those kinds of comments and inappropriate jokes. Me as a person would stand up and say something about that. And I would try to educate people, why that’s not appropriate.

ATN: It is great to hear you are so active Kylie. Thank you for having this attitude. .

Kylie O’Reilly: It’s the way to be, isn’t it?

ATN: This shows the strength of your character. Not everyone is brave enough to speak up and be opposite to racism.

Kylie O’Reilly: I think, what you can do is to deliver your thoughts through the humor. It doesn’t have to be controversial. It doesn’t have to become confrontational. If I’ll deliver it with actual curiosity and humor, when I say to you: “Why do you say that”? It is not threatening, isn’t it? So, if I can deliver it in non-threatening way, sometimes it can be educational. I think this is what people struggle with sometimes: how to communicate to another person if anything is inappropriate.

ATN: How do you see Australia in 20 years?

Kylie O’Reilly: My vision for Australia in 20 years would be that it’s much more embracing and has different cultural identities. It gets down to a couple of values instead of identities. I would like to think that my children will have multiple kinds of friends of different color, different races and different backgrounds and that’s generally accepted as we become more global. So, that’s what I would like to see in the future. I don’t want to see an Australia where everything is only Anglo and white. In this case we would be very limited and especially in terms of Australian values. So, for me diversity is the way to go.

ATN: Could you, please, share your plans for the future? What projects do you want to realize?

Kylie O’Reilly: Well, my job as a chairperson is to help forming a strategy together with the managing director and a board. Talking on behalf of the board, we are very committed to educating and standing up against racism through education. So, I am very excited about the projects that are useful for children and for teachers. I can comment that they are really great projects to be involved in, because putting yourself in the shoes of somebody else can educate you more as it is like to be a victim of racism. And once you have some empathy to that situation, it helps you to understand more, you are even able to curiously challenge people on their views. So, as for me, I love that project.

I also like how we are associated with sport. It is important, because there is a lot of racism in sport. Sport is a one avenue where people can really embrace each other and come together with the common goal of going to their teams. And I think that to be a part of this and to generate an awareness of All Together Now is really important.

So, our projects are connected with everything that can be put on a plate for educating and helping people to stand up against racism. As an example, we created educational mobile application. And on the other side we would like to associate with sport.

All Together Now aims to prevent racism by promoting racial equality through education. We are Australia's only national charity dedicated to preventing all forms of racism in Australia.

ABN: 74 144 510 556

Awarded with

PEOPLE REVIEWS

H

aving experienced the negative effects of racism before, I found great value in aligning myself with an organization that has its prevention as a top priority.

Andy Minh Trieu

SBS Pop Asia,

T

here is no place for racism in Australian football or the broader community and that is something I’m really passionate about.

Bruce Djite

Adelaide United Striker,

H

aving experienced the negative effects of racism before I found great value in aligning myself with an organization that has its prevention as a top priority. Through promoting and participating in All Together Now initiatives I have found the conversation of racism has spread through my networks. My friends that Identify with the issue are now more open to speak out about it.